Klaipėdos universitetas

Following the Bolshevik Red Army’s invasion of what it considered to be the ‘western fringes’ of the former Imperial Russia in November 1918, the Latvian Provisional Government, which claimed part of this territory, concluded an agreement with August Winnig, the plenipotentiary of the German government, on 29 December 1918, to provide aid in its defence. After being promised land, volunteers recruited in Germany headed eastwards to reinforce the units that had already begun to be formed there from the forces of the armed Baltic Germans or the remnants of the retreating German army. Major General Rüdiger von der Goltz, who arrived in Liepāja at the beginning of 1919, took command of all anti-Soviet forces in west Latvia and northwest Lithuania, which were merged into the 6th Reserve Corps. In March 1919, the 6th Reserve Corps launched the Tauwetter, Eisgang and Frühlingswind offensive operations. The offensive resulted in the defeat of the 1st Rifle Brigade and the 2nd Rifle Division of the Soviet Latvian Army, and the liberation of Kurzeme (Kurland) up to the River Lielupe. The article discusses the structure and battle strength of the opposing forces, and the plans drawn up by both sides, and describes in detail the course of the fighting. The aim of the research is to analyse the factors that enable one side or another to implement the principles of mission command while executing manoeuvre warfare.

In January 1919, the Army of Soviet Latvia (ASL) emerged out of Red Army units fighting on future Latvian territory. Until its dissolution in early June 1919, units of the ASL participated in a war that covered areas claimed by both the Latvian and Lithuanian governments. The article aims to reevaluate the campaign in northern Lithuania in the first half of 1919. Until today, the fighting on the left flank of the ASL has been seen as a secondary front, and therefore usually overlooked. The article explores the plans of the ASL, the forces involved, and the actual warfare. Attention is also paid to events behind the front line, and the activities of the Soviet Latvian authorities in Lithuania.